Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 78,270 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,932 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after purchasing an additional 166,987 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,697,716,000 after purchasing an additional 65,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $472.01 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $454.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.